Surgical brace



(No Model.)

L. BLATTMAGHR.

SURGICAL BEACH. No. 431,797. Patented July 8. 1890.

w/r/vmm IWE 10/? $1, kwm/M. 42; $7254 I W ATTORNEYS.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEOPOLD BLATTMAOHR, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SURGICAL BRACE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 431,797, dated July 8,1890.

Application filed April 2, 1890. Serial No- 346,351. (No model.)

To all whom it 71mg concern:

Be itknown that I, LEOPOLD BLATTMACHR, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, a citizen of the United States, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Braces, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved surgical brace of that 'classwhich is used for strengthening the muscles of the leg, so as tofacilitate the walking of persons afllicted with lame or weak limbs, theimprovements being specially designed with a view to facilitate thedetaching of the shoe from the brace and of adjusting the brace intoproper position relatively to the ankle.

The invention consists of a surgical brace for strengthening the musclesof the leg, said brace being applied in the usual manner to the leg andprovided below the knee-joint with straps that extend from theknee-jointat both sides of the. leg to the ankle-joint, said straps being providedwith a recess at the lower ends and with a spring-clasp that serves toengage in a detachable manner the forked ends of a yoke-shaped strapattached to the sole of the shoe, said forked ends being provided withfixed pins for engagement, respectively, with the recessed andperforated ends of the side straps and spring-clasps.

The invention consists, secondly, of a curved rear brace that connectsthe side straps of the leg, said brace being riveted to one strap andadjusted at its opposite end by a slotted extension, and aclamping-screw on the other strap, as will be fully describedhereinafter, and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of myimproved surgical brace for legs. Figs. 2 and 3 are a detail side viewand vertical transverse section of one of the side straps of the brace,showing the connection of the side strap with the strap applied to theshoe; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 show details of the curved rear brace, bywhich the side straps of the legs are connected.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, A represents a surgical brace of that class which isapplied to the leg of the leg, as shown in Fig. 1.

l) b of the thigh and calf are connected by for strengthening themuscles of the same and facilitating the walking of persons having weakor lame legs. The brace is applied by leather straps a a to the leg inthe usual manner, the strap a being applied, respectively, to the thigh,and the strap a to the calf The side straps knee-joints d, which arelocated at both sides of the knee. at both sides of the calf areconnected near the ankle by pivot-joints e witha yoke-shaped strap f,which is attached transversely to the sole of the shoe. Heretofore theankle-joint e was made in the nature of a permanent pivot-connection,which prevented the detaching of the shoe from the side straps b b, so

that when the muscles of the foot were strained and tired considerablepain was caused owing to the inability of removing the shoe and givingrelief to the strained muscles of the foot and leg. For the purpose ofovercoming this defect the ankle-joint is made in the nature of adetachable joint, and constructed in the following manner: The lowerends of the side straps b are recessed at 11 so as to engage pins e,which are attached to the upper ends of the yoke-shaped strap f,attached to the shoe, said recessed ends 19 being inserted between theupper ends of the strap f, and a keeper f, attachedto each end of thesame. To each side strap 1) is riveted a spring-clasp g, the lowerenlarged end of which is provided in front of the recessed end of thestrap 1) with a slotted opening or-eye g, as shown in Fig. 2, thatpasses over the end of the locking-pin e of the strap f, so as toengagesaid pin in connection with the recessed end of the strap b. By movingthen a metallic sleeve or loop 9 in downward direction over thespring-clasp 9 until it abuts against the enlarged edge of the same, theparts of the ankle-joint e are firmly held in position, so as not to getaccidentally detached from each other, as shown in Fig. 3.

Whenever it is desired to give relief to the foot without taking off theentire braceas, for instance, after a long walk or when the partywearing the brace has to sit for some time, the sliding loop 9 is movedupward away from the ankle-joint e, and the locking- The lower ends ofthe straps b spring 9 released from the pin, so that first the sidestrap b at one side is detached from the shoe-strap f. This is repeatedat the opposite side of the brace, so that both side straps b aredisconnected from the shoe-strap f and thereby the required relief givento the muscles of the leg. This detachable joint renders the leg-bracemore comfortable to the wearer, as he can always, by an easy manipulation, detach the shoe from the brace when resting, so as to enable himto give relief to the strained and fatigued muscles of the leg.

The second part of my improvement consists of a semicircular rear braceh, which is applied to the middle part of the side straps b of the calf,by which brace said straps are rigidly connected after the brace isapplied to the leg. For this purpose one end of the semicircular brace his permanently riveted to one of the side straps I), while the oppositeend of said brace is provided with a slotted extension h that isarranged at right angles to the semicircular portion that extends aroundthe back of the calf and attached by a clamping-screw h2 to the oppositeside strap 1). The clamping-screw 7L2 passes through one of severalholes of the side strap 1). Byclamping the rearbrace hin higher or lowerposition to the side strap, the ankle-joint e and shoestrap f are raisedor lowered at one side and set to the required position on the foot andankle.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the side straps, of asurgical leg-brace, said straps being recessed at the lower ends,spring-clasps applied to said straps and having enlarged and slottedends in front of the recessed ends of the straps, and a yoke-shapedstrap attached to the shoe and provided with keepers at the ends, andwith fixed transverse pins passing through said keepers, said pins andkeepers interlockingwith th e recessed and slotted ends of the sidestraps and spring-clasps, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the side straps, of a surgical leg-brace, saidside straps being recessed at the lower ends and provided withspring-clasps having slots in front of said recessed ends, a yoke-shapedstrap applied to the shoe and having keepers at the upper ends and fixedtransverse pins passing through said keepers, and a sliding sleeve orloop for retaining the interlocking parts of the side straps andshoe-straps in position, so as to produce a detachable ankle-joint,substantiallyas set forth.

3. The combination, with the side straps, of a surgical brace applied tothe .leg, of a semicircular rear brace extending around the calf, saidbrace being rigidly attached to one of the side straps and provided witha slotted extension at the other end, and a clampingscrew for attachingsaid brace at a higher or lower point to the opposite side strap,substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedmy name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEOPOLD BLATTMAOHR.

WVitnesses:

PAUL GoEPEL, HENRY HUBER.

